The present invention relates to a method of eliminating shadows contained in an image when a photographic image taken with a video camera, a still camera, or the like is pasted on the surface of a 3-D model (texture mapping), for example, in authoring 3-D contents, and further relates to an image processing apparatus provided with a function of eliminating shadows contained in an image and a recording medium readable by the image processing apparatus.
In authoring 3-D contents, the texture mapping technique of pasting an image on the surface of a 3-D model is used so that texture will be well expressed and a realistic atmosphere can be created.
However, when a photographic image taken with a video camera, a still camera, or the like is pasted on the surface of a 3-D model, the photographic image is shaded by the rendering performed at the final stage of the 3-D graphics process, which requires an operation to eliminate the shadows.
Conventionally, the elimination of shadows from images is conducted by operators' manual work with photo-retouching software.
The procedure is as follows. At first, shadow areas are designated: the shadow areas are roughly designated by setting an approximate color range, and then minute portions are corrected by manual work.
Then, the contrast and the brightness of the designated areas are changed in order to make the areas have the same color as the portions with no shadows.
However, such an operation of changing the contrast and the brightness of the designated areas by using the photo-retouching software requires skill, so that even professional designers cannot produce satisfactory works without sufficient experience.